Starting to review but lost my password and under my new name mua was not able to transfer any of my reviews so adding them here. I found a sample of this liquid gold vanilia in a winter purse and I my heart is breaking it is discontinued----wow what a delicious fragrance. It has such an incredible balance of flowers, vanilla and musk and in my opinion makes it such a winning fragrance, not too sweet but with enough sweetness and warmth I would have called this fragrance my hg for winter. I find this fragrance has no sour notes, no harsh opening of bitterness like some other vanilla fragrance such as Victoria secret's Vanilla Lace (which I love the body lotion) more than the spray. Anyway not to depress those who also adore this scent I also find the drydown to be so yummy and the fragrance actually lasted 5 hours with just one spray. How did I ever miss this one--what a shame.

This fragrance starts with an accord made of vanilla and ylang ylang. Reminiscent of Vanilla Galante, this fragrance is sweeter and heavier than the Hermessence. The two notes, spice and floral, are well-blended and harmonise perfectly. Underneath the two note I detect a trace of amber which gives the fragrance depth and a slight saltiness which boosts by contrast the vanilla note. As the fragrance progresses, it sheds most of the vanilla note and all there remains is ylang ylang framed by amber and a touch of vanilla. Now rather a floral fragrance, it is soft and feminine, perfect to wear on a spring or early autumn evening. As the fragrance dries down, it gets fuller and softer, the floral note slowly fades and amber and sandalwood characterise this last stage. Lasts for six hours on my skin.

HEAVEN IN A BOTTLE! Why did I only discover it now?! I'm not even a vanilla fan. Thank goodness I was still in time to buy probably the second last bottle left in my country. A dusty, inedible vanilla that is almost equally strongly an amber scent (though a very translucent amber), with an absolutely delightful non-fresh sappiness also (ylang-ylang?), a scent combo I've never, ever come across. So rare to find a not-very-sweet vanilla, and one with added interest that's NOT just random cinnamon-ey spiciness? What a treasure. I would bathe in it and smell of it always if I could. Someone at L'Artisan seriously needs a good head-reading, to discontinue this and give us the very vile Vanille Absolument? For SHAME.

I keeping wondering to myself where's the vanilla whenever I test this, it's buried deep somewhere by the amber and overly sweet ylang ylang. Definitely smells like a 1978 creation, not something for me.

A few years ago the L'Artisan saleslady in New York gave me about a million samples of this. It was clearly 'the one' perfume for me. I was looking online to order a bottle only to discover it's been discontinued! Does anyone know where I could still find a bottle, either in store or online?

I had very high expectations about this one, which unfortunately didn't turn true. This is a nice ambery-vanilla on my skin, which is lighter and less sweet than any vanilla I've tried. It's also the least interesting one. On my skin, I don't detect any smoky note, it's so innocent, it's almost childish. The positive thing is that it's so light it can be easily be worn during summer and it's unobtrusive. Having recently tried Felanilla, my vote definitely goes to that one or PdN Vanille Tonka or even SL Un Bois Vanille which are both smokier than this one.

About eight years ago I was perfume sampling at the fragrance counters when an associate sprayed this fragrance on a paper strip. She didn't tell me what it was, which is imporant to understand because when I smelled it, I got a smoky vanillic-AMBER floral. Very warm and vanillic, but with an equal hit of the spicy bite and smoke of nutmeg, ylang ylang, amber and wood. Had I known what the fragrance was called, I would have been surprised because it's not anything like a simple vanilla fragrance. Let me be even more clear - being a vanilla fan will NOT qualify you to like Vanilia. There is too much amber, ylang ylang and wood standing center stage in this to let Vanilia be all about vanilla. Vanilia is an abstract vanilla, not something immediately recognizable as vanilla like the milder gourmand vanillas we've all come to know. This is closer to Guerlain's Shalimar (although still very different than Shalimar) than it is to BBW's Warm Vanilla Sugar. And I love it. :) I'm on my 2nd 100ml bottle. It's great when I want to wear something warm and snuggly. I can see this one worn in the summer because it's not heavy and doesn't have a tremendous throw, but I only wear it in the cooler months - that's when I prefer spicier scents. continued >>

After my disappointing experience with Havana Vanille, I moved on to this. For me, it's the vanilla I've been searching for. On my skin, I get plenty of vanilla, but it's very complex. I do pick up, even with my untrained nose, the the amber and spicy notes, as well as a light smoky note--although it's not the ashtray-smoke of Havana Vanille, it's gentle and sexy--and no floral notes, which I loathe. Overall, this is a grown-up, sophisticated vanilla--the kind that will have men nuzzling your neck, not asking you to bake cookies. I applied just a bit this morning and can still smell it more than twelve hours later, although it does stay close to the skin, which I prefer. Perfection (on my weird chemistry), and I think it will work well with my Sabon Amber body oil as well. I'll be getting a full bottle of this!

After reading the reviews, I am really surprised. Well, surprised that more people donít like it and a little relieved at the same time. For whatever reason, I find that most of my favorite frags seem to be rated in the low three lippie range at best. I like LíArtisan Vanilia and I like vanilla frags in general. Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille and Laura Mercier Vanille Gourmande are two of my favorites. That said, LíArtisan Vanilia is definitely different. Itís not overly sweet and the amber opening is a tad smoky, as others have noted. The overall feel on my skin is a hushed, creamy ylang-ylang and tonka bean thatís grounded and warmed by what evolves into a delicate, skin amber (more the I Profumi di Firenze Ambra del Nepal variety vs the darker, resinous amber of Ambre Sultan). The notes from the LíArtisan website include ylang-ylang, nutmeg, clove, vanilla and sandalwood. I personally donít get a lot of spice from this, and Iíd venture to say if you like amber, ylang-ylang and (unsweet) vanilla notes, youíll likely be pleased with the sum of its parts.

I had a bottle of this igave away. I LOVE many vanillas but this was just a smoky floral old lady musty dusty vanilla on me, that didnt get any better with time and made me feel like a bowl of potpourri. Really disappointed. Yes it might be more 'grown up' than some other sickly sweet vanillas, but im a grown up and i hate it.